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Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger(/ˈʃvɑːrtsnɛɡər/;1a German: ˈʃvaɐ̯tsn̩ˌʔɛɡɐ; born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American actor, filmmaker, businessman, investor, author, philanthropist, activist, politician, and former professional bodybuilder and powerlifter.2 He served two terms as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 to 2011. Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered one of the best professional bodybuilding competitions in recent years, is named after him. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest bodybuilders of all-time as well as that sport's most charismatic ambassador.3 Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, a box-office hit that resulted in a sequel.4 In 1984, he appeared in the title role of James Cameron's critically and commercially successful science-fiction thriller film The Terminator. He subsequently reprised the Terminator character in most of the franchise's later installments, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys(2015).456 He has appeared in a number of other successful films, such as Commando(1985), The Running Man (1987), Predator(1987), Twins (1988), Total Recall (1990), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and True Lies (1994). As a Republican, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. He was sworn in on November 17, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He was then re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor.7 In 2011, he completed his second term as governor and returned to acting. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "the Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career, and "The Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career. Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, a niece of the 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy and daughter of the 1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate and former Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver, in 1986. They separated in 2011 after he admitted to having fathered a child with another woman in 1997.8 Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered one of the best professional bodybuilding competitions in recent years, is named after him. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest bodybuilders of all-time as well as that sport's most charismatic ambassador.3 Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, a box-office hit that resulted in a sequel.4 In 1984, he appeared in the title role of James Cameron's critically and commercially successful science-fiction thriller film The Terminator. He subsequently reprised the Terminator character in most of the franchise's later installments, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys(2015).456 He has appeared in a number of other successful films, such as Commando(1985), The Running Man (1987), Predator(1987), Twins (1988), Total Recall (1990), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and True Lies (1994). As a Republican, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. He was sworn in on November 17, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He was then re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor.7 In 2011, he completed his second term as governor and returned to acting. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "the Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career, and "The Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career. Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, a niece of the 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy and daughter of the 1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate and former Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver, in 1986. They separated in 2011 after he admitted to having fathered a child with another woman in 1997.8 Schwarzenegger began lifting weights at the age of 15. He won the Mr. Universe title at age 20 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest seven times, remaining a prominent presence in bodybuilding and writing many books and articles on the sport. The Arnold Sports Festival, considered one of the best professional bodybuilding competitions in recent years, is named after him. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest bodybuilders of all-time as well as that sport's most charismatic ambassador.3 Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon. His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982, a box-office hit that resulted in a sequel.4 In 1984, he appeared in the title role of James Cameron's critically and commercially successful science-fiction thriller film The Terminator. He subsequently reprised the Terminator character in most of the franchise's later installments, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and Terminator Genisys(2015).456 He has appeared in a number of other successful films, such as Commando(1985), The Running Man (1987), Predator(1987), Twins (1988), Total Recall (1990), Kindergarten Cop (1990), and True Lies (1994). As a Republican, Schwarzenegger was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. He was sworn in on November 17, to serve the remainder of Davis' term. He was then re-elected in the 2006 California gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor.7 In 2011, he completed his second term as governor and returned to acting. Schwarzenegger was nicknamed "the Austrian Oak" in his bodybuilding days, "Arnie" during his acting career, and "The Governator" (a portmanteau of "Governor" and "Terminator") during his political career. Schwarzenegger married Maria Shriver, a niece of the 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy and daughter of the 1972 Democratic vice presidential candidate and former Ambassador to France Sargent Shriver, in 1986. They separated in 2011 after he admitted to having fathered a child with another woman in 1997.8 Early life Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born on July 30, 1947, in Thal, Styria,9 to Aurelia (néeJadrny; 1922–1998) and Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907–1972). His father was the local chief of police and had served in World War II as a Hauptfeldwebel after voluntarily joining the Nazi Party in 1938,10 was wounded during the battle of Stalingrad,11 but was discharged in 1943 following a bout of malaria. He married Schwarzenegger's mother on October 20, 1945; he was 38 and she was 23. According to Schwarzenegger, his parents were very strict: "Back then in Austria it was a very different world ... if we did something bad or we disobeyed our parents, the rod was not spared."12 He grew up in a Catholic family who attended Mass every Sunday.1314 Gustav had a preference for his elder son, Meinhard, over Schwarzenegger.15 His favoritism was "strong and blatant", which stemmed from unfounded suspicion that Schwarzenegger was not his biological child.16Schwarzenegger has said his father had "no patience for listening or understanding your problems."13 He had a good relationship with his mother and kept in touch with her until her death.17 In later life, Schwarzenegger commissioned the Simon Wiesenthal Center to research his father's wartime record, which came up with no evidence of Gustav being involved in atrocities, despite his membership in the Nazi Party and SA.15 Gustav's background received wide press attention during the 2003 California recall campaign.18 At school, Schwarzenegger was reportedly academically average, but stood out for his "cheerful, good-humored, and exuberant" character.13 Money was a problem in their household; Schwarzenegger recalled that one of the highlights of his youth was when the family bought a refrigerator.16 As a boy, Schwarzenegger played several sports, heavily influenced by his father.13 He picked up his first barbell in 1960, when his soccer coach took his team to a local gym.9 At the age of 14, he chose bodybuilding over soccer as a career.45 He later said, "I actually started weight training when I was 15, but I'd been participating in sports, like soccer, for years, so I felt that although I was slim, I was well-developed, at least enough so that I could start going to the gym and start Olympic lifting."12 However, his official website biography claims that "at 14, he started an intensive training program with Dan Farmer, studied psychology at 15 (to learn more about the power of mind over body) and at 17, officially started his competitive career."19During a speech in 2001, he said, "My own plan formed when I was 14 years old. My father had wanted me to be a police officer like he was. My mother wanted me to go to trade school."20 Schwarzenegger took to visiting a gym in Graz, where he also frequented the local movie theaters to see bodybuilding idols such as Reg Park, Steve Reeves, and Johnny Weissmulleron the big screen.12 When Reeves died in 2000, Schwarzenegger fondly remembered him: "As a teenager, I grew up with Steve Reeves. His remarkable accomplishments allowed me a sense of what was possible when others around me didn't always understand my dreams. Steve Reeves has been part of everything I've ever been fortunate enough to achieve." In 1961, Schwarzenegger met former Mr. Austria Kurt Marnul, who invited him to train at the gym in Graz.9 He was so dedicated as a youngster that he broke into the local gym on weekends, so that he could train even when it was closed. "It would make me sick to miss a workout... I knew I couldn't look at myself in the mirror the next morning if I didn't do it."12When Schwarzenegger was asked about his first movie experience as a boy, he replied: "I was very young, but I remember my father taking me to the Austrian theaters and seeing some newsreels. The first real movie I saw, that I distinctly remember, was a John Waynemovie."12 Schwarzenegger's brother, Meinhard, died in a car crash on May 20, 1971.9 He was driving drunk and died instantly. Schwarzenegger did not attend his funeral.16 Meinhard was engaged to Erika Knapp, and they had a three-year-old son named Patrick. Schwarzenegger paid for Patrick's education and helped him to move to the U.S.16 Gustav died on December 13, 1972, from a stroke.9 In Pumping Iron, Schwarzenegger claimed that he did not attend his father's funeral because he was training for a bodybuilding contest. Later, he and the film's producer said this story was taken from another bodybuilder to show the extremes some would go to for their sport and to make Schwarzenegger's image colder to create controversy for the film.21 Barbara Baker, his first serious girlfriend, recalled that he informed her of his father's death without emotion and that he never spoke of his brother.22 Over time, he has given at least three versions of why he was absent from his father's funeral.16 In an interview with Fortune in 2004, Schwarzenegger told how he suffered what "would now be called child abuse" at the hands of his father: "My hair was pulled. I was hit with belts. So was the kid next door. It was just the way it was. Many of the children I've seen were broken by their parents, which was the German-Austrian mentality. They didn't want to create an individual. It was all about conforming. I was one who did not conform, and whose will could not be broken. Therefore, I became a rebel. Every time I got hit, and every time someone said, 'You can't do this,' I said, 'This is not going to be for much longer because I'm going to move out of here. I want to be rich. I want to be somebody.'"10 in 1984 ]] Schwarzenegger served in the Austrian Army in 1965 to fulfill the one year of service required at the time of all 18-year-old Austrian males.919During his army service, he won the Junior Mr. Europe contest.5 He went AWOL during basic training so he could take part in the competition and spent a week in military prison: "Participating in the competition meant so much to me that I didn't carefully think through the consequences." He won another bodybuilding contest in Graz, at Steirerhof Hotel (where he placed second). He was voted best-built man of Europe, which made him famous. "The Mr. Universe title was my ticket to America—the land of opportunity, where I could become a star and get rich."20Schwarzenegger made his first plane trip in 1966, attending the NABBA Mr. Universecompetition in London.19 He would come in second in the Mr. Universe competition, not having the muscle definition of American winner Chester Yorton.19 Charles "Wag" Bennett, one of the judges at the 1966 competition, was impressed with Schwarzenegger and he offered to coach him. As Schwarzenegger had little money, Bennett invited him to stay in his crowded family home above one of his two gyms in Forest Gate, London. Yorton's leg definition had been judged superior, and Schwarzenegger, under a training program devised by Bennett, concentrated on improving the muscle definition and power in his legs. Staying in the East End of Londonhelped Schwarzenegger improve his rudimentary grasp of the English language.2324 Living with the Bennetts also changed him as a person: "Being with them made me so much more sophisticated. When you're the age I was then, you're always looking for approval, for love, for attention and also for guidance. At the time, I wasn't really aware of that. But now, looking back, I see that the Bennett family fulfilled all those needs. Especially my need to be the best in the world. To be recognized and to feel unique and special. They saw that I needed that care and attention and love."25 Also in 1966, while at Bennett's home, Schwarzenegger had the opportunity to meet childhood idol Reg Park, who became his friend and mentor.2526 The training paid off and, in 1967, Schwarzenegger won the title for the first time, becoming the youngest ever Mr. Universe at the age of 20.19 He would go on to win the title a further three times.5 Schwarzenegger then flew back to Munich, where he attended a business school and worked in a health club (Rolf Putziger's gym, where he worked and trained from 1966 to 1968), returning in 1968 to London to win his next Mr. Universe title.19 He frequently told Roger C. Field, his English coach and friend in Munich at that time, "I'm going to become the greatest actor!"27 Schwarzenegger, who dreamed of moving to the U.S. since the age of 10, and saw bodybuilding as the avenue through which to do so,28 realized his dream by moving to the United States in October 1968 at the age of 21, speaking little English.59 There he trained at Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, under Joe Weider. From 1970 to 1974, one of Schwarzenegger's weight training partners was Ric Drasin, a professional wrestler who designed the original Gold's Gym logo in 1973.29 Schwarzenegger also became good friends with professional wrestler Superstar Billy Graham. In 1970, at age 23, he captured his first Mr. Olympia title in New York, and would go on to win the title a total of seven times.19 The immigration law firm Siskind & Susser has stated that Schwarzenegger may have been an illegal immigrant at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s because of violations in the terms of his visa.30 LA Weekly would later say in 2002 that Schwarzenegger is the most famous immigrant in America, who "overcame a thick Austrian accent and transcended the unlikely background of bodybuilding to become the biggest movie star in the world in the 1990s".28 In 1977, Schwarzenegger's autobiography/weight-training guide Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder became a huge success.9 In 1977 he posed for the gay magazine After Dark.3132 After taking English classes at Santa Monica College in California, he earned a bachelor's degree by correspondence from the University of Wisconsin–Superior, in international marketing of fitness and business administration in 1979. He got his American citizenship in 1983.33 Schwarzenegger said that during this time he encountered a friend who told him he was teaching Transcendental Meditation ™, which prompted Schwarzenegger to reveal he had been struggling with anxiety for the first time in his life: "Even today, I still benefit from year of TM because I don't merge and bring things together and see everything as one big problem."34 Bodybuilding career Schwarzenegger is considered among the most important figures in the history of bodybuilding, and his legacy is commemorated in the Arnold Classic annual bodybuilding competition. He has remained a prominent face in bodybuilding long after his retirement, in part because of his ownership of gyms and fitness magazines. He has presided over numerous contests and awards shows. For many years, he wrote a monthly column for the bodybuilding magazines Muscle & Fitnessand Flex. Shortly after being elected governor, he was appointed the executive editor of both magazines, in a largely symbolic capacity. The magazines agreed to donate $250,000 a year to the Governor's various physical fitness initiatives. When the deal, including the contract that gave Schwarzenegger at least $1 million a year, was made public in 2005, many criticized it as being a conflict of interest since the governor's office made decisions concerning regulation of dietary supplements in California.36 Consequently, Schwarzenegger relinquished the executive editor role in 2005.36 American Media Inc., which owns Muscle & Fitness and Flex, announced in March 2013 that Schwarzenegger had accepted their renewed offer to be executive editor of the magazines.36 One of the first competitions he won was the Junior Mr. Europe contest in 1965.9 He won Mr. Europe the following year, at age 19.919He would go on to compete in, and win, many bodybuilding contests. His bodybuilding victories included five Mr. Universe (4 – NABBAEngland, 1 – IFBB USA) wins, and seven Mr. Olympia wins, a record which would stand until Lee Haney won his eighth consecutive Mr. Olympia title in 1991. Schwarzenegger continues to work out. When asked about his personal training during the 2011 Arnold Classic he said that he was still working out a half an hour with weights every day.37 * Competition weight: 235 pounds (107 kg),38the lightest in 1980 Mr. Olympia around 225 pounds (102 kg), the heaviest in 1971,1974 Mr. Olympia around 250 pounds (113 kg)3940 * Off-season weight: 260 pounds (118 kg)38 Roles/Filmography C237F9DA-E1A8-4C3A-870E-CF1373E6FAAF.jpeg|Ben Richards in The Running Man 3D257AB7-945A-4344-87B9-CD4BD1E0A4A5.jpeg|Cpt. Ivan Danko in Red Heat 1E9B3846-67B6-4AB2-823F-46C06B5FC156.jpeg|Douglas "Doug" Quaid / Carl Hauser in Total Recall 706D5F3A-1BCC-4537-8377-9479EA85B3FC.jpeg|The Terminator / T-800 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day FD647AEC-35B3-4CEE-928D-2AC7AE9095C4.jpeg|Jack Slater in Last Action Hero A92240C5-392B-41A6-8029-898E3FD8C1AE.jpeg|Adam Gibson / Adam Gibson Clone in The 6th Day Category:Males Category:1940s births Category:Total Recall Category:Red Heat Category:The Running Man Category:Last Action Hero Category:The 6th Day Category:Terminator Category:People from Austria